Good Times...

Had a wonderful time at Myrtle Beach, SC over the weekend. My husband and I sang for a Single's Retreat there. Our trip south was hair-raising as our car- just out of the shop- bucked and acted up nearly the entire way. I was praying hard! We have a BMW--- are you impressed?!? Well... it's hardly a status symbol as a 1985 with over 250K miles on it. We got it for a good price & it gets GREAT gas mileage!! We thought the problem was clogged fuel injectors, (cheap gas) but then smoke started billowing out from under the hood and the engine was WAY over-heated. Within 10 miles of our hotel, the car died & we had to stop in the parking lot of a restaurant to raise the hood, let the engine cool & try to figure out what was wrong. (Okay, I can't seem to say the name correctly- who in the world would name a restaurant FUDDRUCKERS?) My hubby soon discovered that the alternator belt had fried. We were somehow able to find an auto-parts store, where we bought a fuel filter & belt. We then limped over to the parking lot of Embassy Suites Hotel, turned the car off & let it smoke in the parking lot. To make matters worse, when the engine cooled and we tried to start the car again- we discovered the battery had DIED! SO embarassing to pull up to a ritzy place like that and have to ask somebody to help you push your dying BMW into a parking spot! Well, we determined not to let our problem ruin our weekend- we had a lot of fun with the singles group- even though we're married! By the way, I highly recommend Embassy Suites!! VERY pleased with the room, cleanliness, hospitality & service. At one point Friday night, we considered selling the car to the first person who would take it off our hands and driving a rental car home. Sunday morning, a guy showed up with some tools & we were able to get the car fixed. It drove like a dream the whole way home.... go figure....